As I recall it, Ajit Manocha was hired first, he brought SV in, and then of course there is Peter Copetti who brought Ajit in.
You can slice it anyway you want, SV was the brains behind the OI, maybe AM helped him with how to go about it.
AM still claims to be the Executive CEO at POET....is that official?...I don't see him mentioned on POET's website but the timing seems updated.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajit-manocha-b6612279/